Well-casing protector



Inventors William 136mb W l. BETTIS Er AL wELL'CAsING PROTECTOR F'lled Jan 5, 1925 Feb. 16 1926.

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WILLAM BETTIS, 0F LOS NGELES, AND LEROY H. PRRY, F GARDENA, CALI- FORNIA; SAID PERRY .SSEGNOR TO SAID BETTIS. i

WELL-CASNG PROTECTR.

Application tiled January 5, 1925. Serial No.

To all lwhom t may concern:

y Be it known that we, WILLIAM l. Bic'r'rrs and LEROY H. PERRY, both of us being citizens of the United States, residing` respectively, at Los Angeles and Gardena, in the county of Los ngeles and State ot' California, have invented a new and useful lNell-Casing Protector, of which a specification is set forth below.

lin this specification, and the accompanying drawing, wewill describe and show a preferred forni of our invent-ion and specifically mention certain of its Vmore important' objects. We do not limit ourselves to the forms disclosed, since varioiis changes and adaptations may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention as hereinafter claimed; and objects and advantages, other than those specifically mentioned., are includedwithin its scope. v

Our invention relates to methods for protecting deep well casings from abrasion, and among its salient objects are; first, to provide practical means for preventing a drill pipe and its joints from contacting with the wall of the casing, irrespective of length and straightness; second, to greatly reduce the tendency of drill pipe and casingto be come crystallizedy as the result of vibration and shocks due to contacts; third, to-furnish a casing protector that is readily adapted for mounting upon a drill pipe; and, fourth, to supply a method for retaining the pro` tector in proper position on the drill pipe without 'mechanical fastening means other than its own inherent characteristics.

ln the drilling of fdeepivvells it is practically impossible to keep either the lcasing or the drill pipe in perfect alignment, or the drill .pipe concentric with the casing. As a consequence the drill pipe joints or couplings rub against the interior Wall 0f the casing, and especially in the presence of gritty circulating fluid, very often wear\ holes through the casing. This is particularly apt to happen when the drilling is hard, and it therefore i's necessary to rotate the drill pipe for a relatively long time with very little longitudinal feed.

VWe have found, that abrasion of the casing, under the foregoing conditions, may be practically Veliminated by providing the drill pipe at intervals with rubber rings of sufficiently large external diameter, and inv suiticient number, to keepv the drill pipe and its joints yfrom rubbing against the casing.` 4lt is well known that rubber is particularly adapted for water lubrication, and that water is always presentin deep well drilling. Moreover', rubber rings thus used, by reason 'of their wet and Islippery surfaces and their yielding nature, are unable to retain abrasive grit upon the s11rfaccs`and cannotl damage the casing by rubbing againstg it.

rlhese principles are fully utilized and embodied by us in the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l represents in cross section a por` tion of a deep well with a drill pipe equipped with our invention therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the lower end of a drill pipe with a tool joint thereon, and indicates the manner in which, our casing protectors are applied thereto; the protector. in this case is-shown broken., and other parts in section, in order to better illustrate' the construction; and

AFigure il lis a. perspective view of a in odi-- fied type of protector especially adapted for use where the internal diameter of the casing is relatively small compared to the outer diameter of the tool joints. i

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Our invention comprises a plurality of resilient rubber rings 4 in combination with a drill pipe 5, upon whichthe rings are mounted at intervals. The vrings are made of a suitable composition adapted for withstanding wear and for being stretched under tension. The internal diameter 6 of the rings is normally less than V.the external diameter 7 of the drill pipe 4on which they are to bemounted, so that they are adapted to tightly grip the. pipe by the. tension irr-` the rubber. The external diameter 8 of the rings is greater than the external diameter 9 of the topljoints 10, orhof the intermediate couplintgs l1.

, The upper ends ot' the protecting rings are flared outwardly from the bore, as shown at 12, so as to enable them to be more readily forced over the tool joints and couplings. rl`he-outer ends of both of the latter are always rounded, as at 13, so that it is leasily possible -to force the rubber rings over them.

The protecting rings may be conveniently assembled upon the drill pipe by supporting sure that the drill them upon a yoke, or u' on an orifice plate 14, and lowering the drill pipe through them. When the tool joint or coupling has passedtthe ring the latter contracts upon the 'drill pipe and is allowed to remain in the position shown in dotted lines 15, and also illustrated in section inl Fig. 1. A suilicient number of rings are used in'this Way to inpipe joints and couplings will nowhere come in contact with casing 16 by reason of the lackof alignment of either vthe casing or drill pipe.

The modified form of our invention shown in Fig. 3 is used where the external diameter tional area of the flow passages for the circulating fluid that otherwise passes through wear on tool joints and ing, the Cost the annular spaces between the casing and the peripheries of the rings.

It will be seen. from the above description that the use of our invention in no changes or impedes the customaryv operations of drilling. .On the other hand it not only greatly lengthens the life of tool joints and couplings, but entirely obviates the danger of ruining thewell by wearing holes through the casing, and thus destroying its functionl of sealing off the ground water. The cost of the protecting rings'is relatively small compared to the cost of the usual couplings; and compared to the cost of locating and repairing casing leaks, o r of abandoning a Well because of the impracticability of repairing the casof the protecting rings is negligible. v C

We claim as our invention:

1. A Well casing protector comprising a ring of resilient material adapted for being sprung over altool joint, and thereafter to grip a drill pipe; the bore of said ring large to permit pas-- sage of the circulating way tudinally grooved; and

being outwardly fiared at one end, and the outer diameter ofthe ring being greater than that of said joint.

2. A wel ring of resilient material adapted for being sprung over a tool joint, and thereafter to grip a drill gripping said pipe, the outer diameter of the ring will be greater than that of said joint.

3. CA Well casing protector comprising a ring of resilient material adapted for being sprung over a grip a drill pipe; the outer diameter of said ring being greater than that of said joint, and the periphery of the ring being longitudinally grooved. A

4. A well casing protector comprising a longitudinally grooved ring of resilient material adapted for being sprung overa tool joint, and thereafter to grip a drill pipe; the bore of said ring being outwardly flared j. at one end; and the radial thickness of said pipe; the radial thickness of .said ringbeing such that, when tool joint, and thereafter tov l casing protector comprising a,

ring being such that, when gripping said'A pipe, the outer diameter of the ring Will be greater than that of said joint.

5. In combination with a coupled drill pipe, rings of resilient material gripping the pipe intermediate the couplings; the diameter of said rings when thus positioned being greater than that and being greater than that of said couplings;

the peripheries lof said rings being longisaid material being adapted for water lubrication and :for resisting by its resiliency the embedding of extraneous material therein.

' WILLIAM I. BETTIS.

LEROY H. PERRY.

ofsaid couplings; j said material being adapted for water lubrication `and for resisting by its resiliency of extraneous material-- 

